New tab automatically loads search conduit

I've been having terrible trouble with an unwanted service called search conduit which has wormed its way into my firefox. First it changed my homepage, which I reverted. Then whenever I searched something in the address bar, instead of google, search conduit would handle it instead. I read some other questions on here, and found out how to stop this by changing the browser search value in about:config.

However, one problem remains. Every time I open a new tab, instead of being a blank tab like it used to, search conduit's page loads instead. So I went to about:config and changed browser.newtab.url to about:blank, which is what other answers that I read suggested. Problem solved, or so I thought. But nothing has changed; when I open a new tab it's not blank - it's still search conduit.

This is beyond a joke. It's actually disobeying orders. It's "overruling" me! I was going to uninstall firefox and download it again, but that's too much hassle what with bookmarks and the like.

How do I purge the devious search conduit once and for all? I've looked in add-ons and plugins but I can't find it. I'm at my wits end.

I've been having terrible trouble with an unwanted service called search conduit which has wormed its way into my firefox. First it changed my homepage, which I reverted. Then whenever I searched something in the address bar, instead of google, search conduit would handle it instead. I read some other questions on here, and found out how to stop this by changing the browser search value in about:config.
However, one problem remains. Every time I open a new tab, instead of being a blank tab like it used to, search conduit's page loads instead. So I went to about:config and changed browser.newtab.url to about:blank, which is what other answers that I read suggested. Problem solved, or so I thought. But nothing has changed; when I open a new tab it's not blank - it's still search conduit.
This is beyond a joke. It's actually disobeying orders. It's "overruling" me! I was going to uninstall firefox and download it again, but that's too much hassle what with bookmarks and the like.
How do I purge the devious search conduit once and for all? I've looked in add-ons and plugins but I can't find it. I'm at my wits end.

Chosen solution

Scan for Malware

Sometimes a problem with Firefox may be a result of malware installed on your computer, that you may not be aware of.

The Reset Firefox feature can fix many issues by restoring Firefox to its factory default state while saving your essential information.
Note: This will cause you to lose any Extensions, Open websites, and some Preferences.

To Reset Firefox do the following:

Go to Firefox > Help > Troubleshooting Information.

Click the "Reset Firefox" button.

Firefox will close and reset. After Firefox is done, it will show a window with the information that is imported. Click Finish.

The Reset Firefox feature can fix many issues by restoring Firefox to its factory default state while saving your essential information.
Note: This will cause you to lose any Extensions, Open websites, and some Preferences.

To Reset Firefox do the following:

Go to Firefox > Help > Troubleshooting Information.

Click the "Reset Firefox" button.

Firefox will close and reset. After Firefox is done, it will show a window with the information that is imported. Click Finish.

'''Scan for Malware'''
Sometimes a problem with Firefox may be a result of malware installed on your computer, that you may not be aware of.
You can try some of the following programs to scan for malware:
* [http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php MalwareBytes' Anti-Malware]
* [http://support.kaspersky.com/faq/?qid=208283363 TDSSKiller - AntiRootkit Utility]
* [http://windows.microsoft.com/MSE Microsoft Security Essentials] (A good permanent anti-virus if you don't already have one)
Further information can be found in the [[Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by malware]] article.
'''Reset Firefox'''
The Reset Firefox feature can fix many issues by restoring Firefox to its factory default state while saving your essential information.
Note: ''This will cause you to lose any Extensions, Open websites, and some Preferences.''
To Reset Firefox do the following:
#Go to Firefox > Help > Troubleshooting Information.
#Click the "Reset Firefox" button.
#Firefox will close and reset. After Firefox is done, it will show a window with the information that is imported. Click Finish.
#Firefox will open with all factory defaults applied.
Further information can be found in the [[Reset Firefox – easily fix most problems]] article.
Did this fix your problems? Please report back to us!

Note that the SearchReset extension only runs once and then uninstalls automatically, so it won't show on the "Firefox > Add-ons" page (about:addons).

If you do not keep changes after a restart then you can check for problems with preferences and try to rename or delete the prefs.js file and possible numbered prefs-##.js files and a possible user.js file to reset all prefs to the default values.

Did you try Safe mode disabled all extensions to check whether one of them is causing this?
*https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Troubleshooting+extensions+and+themes
You can reset some preferences to the default with the SearchReset extension:
*https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/searchreset/
Note that the SearchReset extension only runs once and then uninstalls automatically, so it won't show on the "Firefox > Add-ons" page (about:addons).
If you do not keep changes after a restart then you can check for problems with preferences and try to rename or delete the prefs.js file and possible numbered prefs-##.js files and a possible user.js file to reset all prefs to the default values.
*http://kb.mozillazine.org/Resetting_preferences
*http://kb.mozillazine.org/Preferences_not_saved